We tried our best to prepare for the trek. Hats, scarves, granola bars, thick socks, walking sticks, iodine tablets for water, “Gor-tex” gloves were all checked off our shopping list…we read about the route in our guidebook, and asked questions of a few locals in town, but nothing we found came even close to giving us an idea of what the trek would be like until we actually started. We took a bus to Besisahar where we started walking. After the first day, other than the emergency helicopters and a few planes, we didn’t see another vehicle until crossing the pass (day #10). For eighteen days we walked between 3-7 hours a day, we covered over 200km, changing altitude as much as 1700m in one day. We stopped in a village each night, staying in small “teahouses.” The landscape changed each day, the temperatures decreased as the altitude increased, and we made many fun memories along the way. For me (Joylani), it was one of the toughest things I’ve ever done. For Matt, he was in happy trekker’s oblivion. It was a good time. And here’s our story.